Hello followers!
Apologies for my delay in posting, but I've finally joined planet Earth again(haha)! We've made it past midterms, and the main focus of this semester has been time management. During this semester, I have had to complete 150 hours of a preceptorship at Lahey Clinic, a two week rotation at Rosie's Place in Boston, and a six week rotation at Partners Healthcare at Home for community clinical. It has been a blast, but a ton of work! I do not know whether I am coming or going these days, but I know it will all be worth it. In less than two months I will be sitting for the NCLEX!!! ::AHHH:: As I look back at my first post on here I cannot believe how far I have come -- I truly feel ready to be a registered nurse in a few short months. Now, since I have totally slacked on keeping up this blog (please forgive me!) I have several updates about this semester I'd love to share with you...
1. Rosie's Place: This honestly has to be one of the best rotations I have had at Regis, and it was an experience that will stick with me throughout my nursing career. For those of you are unfamiliar with Rosie's Place, it is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women that offers emergency and long-term assistance to women who have nowhere else to turn. The stories these women had to offer were remarkable and humbling. Many of the women at Rosie's Place are homeless, afflicted by neglect/abuse, or have had unfortunate pasts that haunt them till this day. For most of these women and their children, Rosie's Place would offer their only meal for the day. I was ultimately impressed by how welcoming Rosie's Place was towards their guests, and it served to remind me how each patient (no matter their background) deserves respect and unconditional love.
2. Partners Healthcare at Home: What a great surprise this rotation has been for me! I felt uneasy about entering patient homes to provide care, and the position of the traveling nurse has been much different then I thought. There is a greater sense of autonomy when you are out on the road compared to say a hospital or clinic setting. The traveling nurse has the opportunity to have flexible hours, but yet, still needs to maintain organization and open communication with the healthcare team. There is a more personal aspect of care when you enter a patient's home, and it truly appealed to me. I found it was semi-easier to provide care in the home setting, as patients tend to communicate better in the comfort of their own home. Therefore, as a traveling nurse building nurse/patient trust is slightly more relaxed especially when the patient has the option of offering you some tea before you start your assessment... hehehe
3. Lahey Clinic Cardio/Thoracic Preceptorship - WHERE DO I BEGIN?! This rotation has been filled with every emotion under the sun -- excitement, panic, tears, laughter, nervousness, frustration -- you name it, I probably have felt it after completing 150 hours at Lahey in the cardio/thoracic unit. This WAS my favorite rotation, because I was able to work one-on-one with a registered nurse who had been practicing for years. Everything was very much hands-on, and I began to feel like a true registered nurse after completion of this preceptorship. I was also able to brush up on the cardiac system while working on this floor, which will come in handy for the upcoming NCLEX. Each shift was a different experience, and working on a cardio/thoracic unit was never a boring moment. I was able to assess patients, put in NG tubes, administer meds, help with ambulation, clean wounds, draw blood samples etc. etc. all with the guidance of my preceptor. By the last few shifts I was taking care of 4-5 patients on my own, and if you ask me how that happened my answers is I couldn't tell ya! One day I was struggling to give an injection, and the next I administered flu vaccinations all day long like it was nothing. I guess nursing is similar to other things in life -- you listen, practice, and keep learning even when you feel like there isn't another morsel left in you that can learn anymore! Then one day you step out on a cardio/thoracic unit making sure your patients are alive and not coding ... hooray! Having the opportunity to precept one-one-one during this final semester has been amazing, and I am so glad I chose the path to helping others :)
Well I guess this is all I will write for now, as your eyes are probably exhausted! BUT I will try my best to update more often (c'monnnn Katie!) even if it means attaching myself to an IV of caffeine!
And as always... please feel free to contact me with any questions/concerns/ or money gifts (jokes) at ktava775@regiscollege.edu
AND FOR SOME LAUGHS...
When there is food at the nurses station
I’m like
the look your patients give you when you tell them they are getting a suppository
When my non nursing friends hear what I do
